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EDITORS’ NOTES

Over the subaquatic drum loop and synth chords that open Love Letters, Metronomy singer Joseph Mount repeats a pleading refrain: “I’ve gotta beam a message to you.” The sentiment might be a simple one—he’s smitten—but the album that follows is anything but. The band’s fourth full-length is filled with emotionally piercing electro-soul that’s rich with off-kilter invention. Mount’s obsession with love inspires him to send letters across the sea ("Love Letters"), plot a whimsical weekend tryst (“Never Wanted”), and ponder astrological compatibility (“I’m Aquarius”). While these gestures might be time-tested fodder for love songs, there’s extraordinary freshness in the execution—from the bouncing, future-disco groove and warm horn lines on “The Most Immaculate Haircut” to the pseudo-Baroque vintage organ riffs of “Monstrous.”

Love Letters

EDITORS’ NOTES

Over the subaquatic drum loop and synth chords that open Love Letters, Metronomy singer Joseph Mount repeats a pleading refrain: “I’ve gotta beam a message to you.” The sentiment might be a simple one—he’s smitten—but the album that follows is anything but. The band’s fourth full-length is filled with emotionally piercing electro-soul that’s rich with off-kilter invention. Mount’s obsession with love inspires him to send letters across the sea ("Love Letters"), plot a whimsical weekend tryst (“Never Wanted”), and ponder astrological compatibility (“I’m Aquarius”). While these gestures might be time-tested fodder for love songs, there’s extraordinary freshness in the execution—from the bouncing, future-disco groove and warm horn lines on “The Most Immaculate Haircut” to the pseudo-Baroque vintage organ riffs of “Monstrous.”

TITLE

TIME

The Upsetter

4:15

I'm Aquarius

4:01

Monstrous

3:53

Love Letters

5:15

Month of Sundays

3:26

Boy Racers

4:18

Call Me

3:51

The Most Immaculate Haircut

4:30

Reservoir

3:15

Never Wanted

4:35

10 Songs, 41 Minutes

℗ 2013 Because Music

Customer Reviews

4 out of 5

95 Ratings

95 Ratings

Brilliant album so far.

CalebManning, Jan 27, 2014

Love Letters is shaping up to be my album of the year already. "I'm Aquarius" is a completely different take on everything you knew about Metronomy. Very soulful song although the better of the two, in my opinion is "Love Letters". Retro inflected vocals, Trumpets, Piano riffs and an incredible driving bass makes for an extremely groovy, catchy tune. One of their best yet. Joseph Mount is a genius and this band is constantly evolving. With each album they seem to be getting better and better...hopefully the rest of the songs live up to the standards of these two songs...now if they could just tour in the U.S....

Possible album of the year

Tyler Purcell, Feb 9, 2014

If the songs go in the way of "I'm Aquarius", with the minimal instrument use, this album has the possibility to put Metronomy in the international spotlight in the way that The xx's eponymous debut did. Less is always more, and I can't get enough.

Exquisitionist

Neither?, Mar 4, 2014

About Metronomy

Beginning as a scrappy, lo-fi side project and growing into one of the more creative acts mixing rock and electronic music, Metronomy is the project of London-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Joseph Mount. Named after the musical term for the measurement of time by an instrument, Mount started Metronomy in 1999 as a side project to the other bands he played with, using an old computer that his father gave him to record songs. Metronomy's first full-band lineup also included keyboardist/saxophonist Oscar Cash and keyboardist/bassist Gabriel Stebbing. Prior to Metronomy, Mount and Stebbing played together in bands such as the Upsides, a pop group the pair described as "the original Busted," and the Customers, with whom they played in university.

When his cousin Cash joined Metronomy, it became the trio's main project. With a sound inspired by influences from Devo and David Bowie to N.E.R.D. and Pavement, Metronomy earned buzz for their engaging live shows as well as official and unofficial remixes of tracks by Gorillaz, Architecture in Helsinki, Sebastien Tellier, Kate Nash, U2, and Britney Spears. Their debut single, "You Could Easily Have Me," arrived in spring 2005 on the Holiphonic imprint, and the full-length Pip Paine (Pay the £5000 You Owe) was released that summer.

In 2006, Metronomy signed to Because Music; the following year, the single Radio Ladio became their first and only release on its Need Now Future imprint. The label also issued 2008's Nights Out, which introduced their eclectic sound to a wider audience thanks to singles such as Heartbreaker and My Heart Rate Rapid. In 2009, Stebbing left Metronomy to focus on his other project, Your Twenties. Bassist Gbenga Adelekan and former Lightspeed Champion drummer Anna Prior joined the fold for 2011's The English Riviera, which boasted a sleeker sound than the band's previous work. It was their most commercially successful album to date, reaching number 28 on the U.K. charts, selling more than 60,000 copies, and earning them a Mercury Prize nomination. The album's popularity led to a sold-out show at Royal Albert Hall as well as comprehensive tours of both Europe and North America.

Mount and crew went in a very different direction for Metronomy's fourth album, Love Letters. Taking inspiration from acts such as the Supremes, the Zombies, and Sly & the Family Stone, the band recorded at Toe Rag, an all-analog London studio frequented by indie rock bands such as the White Stripes and the Cribs. The singles I'm Aquarius and Love Letters -- which boasted a video directed by Michel Gondry -- signaled the album's mix of vintage warmth and cutting-edge pop ahead of its March 2014 release. The album peaked at number seven on the U.K. albums chart, their highest position on the chart yet. For Metronomy's next album, Mount changed course again, booking a studio just outside Paris and writing and recording a set of songs by himself within two weeks. The funky Summer 08, which reflected on the exuberance of the Nights Out era and featured collaborations with Mix Master Mike, Erol Alkan, and Robyn, arrived in July 2016. ~ Heather Phares